Great Lakes Lose on Asian CarpReid Pushes Dream Act.; Stock Market Crash?; Obama vs. Chambers of Commerce; Deficit Commission Vote

News from Chicago: In a long-awaited ruling, U.S. district court Judge Robert M. Dow said "the bottom line is that even giving every benefit of doubt ... squeezing that testimony for every ounce of weight ... plaintiffs cannot establish a showing of irreparable harm" that would justify a preliminary injunction closing the locks.
But Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today vowed to continue the fight and made an appeal to President Obama to step in and force the locks closed.
"Our legal fight against Asian carp will continue, but President Obama could stop the spread of Asian carp with the flick of a switch," said Cox. "Obama's persistent failure to stop Asian carp is a slap in the face to Great Lakes citizens genuinely concerned about preserving their livelihood." http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/judge-wont-close-chicago-locks-to-keep-out-asian-carp.html
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Fox News reports: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has pushed four different versions of the controversial immigration bill known as the DREAM Act without a hearing on any of them, drawing outrage from the top Republican on the committee that would have handled the package.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/01/reid-angers-gop-pushing-versions-dream-act-hearing/#ixzz16zoznOOc

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US News opines: Failure by Congress to extend the Bush tax cuts, especially locking in the 15 percent capital gains tax rate, will spark a stock market

sell off starting December 15 as investors move to lock in gains at a lower rate than the 20 percent it would jump to next year, warn analysts. [See who gets the most money from the financial industry.]  http://politics.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/12/2/delaying-tax-vote-could-crash-stock-market.html
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Los Angeles Times, Reporting from Washington:

Since taking office nearly two years ago, President Obama has frequently clashed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a major business group that has plowed millions of dollars into opposing his plans to overhaul healthcare and impose new regulations on Wall Street.

Obama and his aides have criticized the group publicly. But the administration's campaign to neutralize the group went further, according to a source involved in the dispute.

Over the last year the White House has hosted meetings with business leaders to discuss policy, and in some of those sessions asked that they persuade the chamber to cancel TV ads aimed at defeating Obama's healthcare plan, said a business lobbyist familiar with the matter.

Illustrating the depth of the dispute, the White House also asked corporate executives to drop their membership in the chamber, said the lobbyist, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid becoming personally entangled in the conflict. Another source said there had been discussions at the chamber regarding the White House urging resignations.

In campaign stops during the midterm election season, Obama at one point devoted part of his stump speech to a claim that the chamber was relying on foreign money to pay for TV ads meant to influence the vote. He later dropped that argument amid fact-checks that showed the evidence was scanty.    http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obama-chamber-20101203,0,4934784.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fpolitics+%28L.A.+Times+-+Politics%29

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The Washington Times writes: Six members of President Obama's deficit commission are expected to vote on Friday against its final report, meaning the panel will not be able to submit any recommendations to Congress for action.
Late Thursday, Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, announced his opposition, joining one House Democrat, three House Republicans and one of Mr. Obama's appointees, who also are expected to vote against it, leaving the 18-member panel short of the 14 votes Mr. Obama said would be needed to adopt a final report. Also late Thursday, Andrew Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union, announced his opposition.
When Mr. Obama formed the commission by executive order in February, he required that 14 of the 18 members support any final recommendations, in order to ensure bipartisanship. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/support-erodes-for-deficit-panel-plan/
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